The media or broadcast industry has traditionally been confined to technologies that are expensive and inflexible with respect to editing, production and delivery of media (e.g., video). By contrast, the communications industry affords great flexibility in terms of providing users with alternative networks and rich communication and entertainment services. In addition, the cost of equipment, from networking elements to end user equipment, follows a downward trend as advancements are made; for example, cellular phones are ubiquitous because of their affordability. The capabilities of these devices continue to evolve at a rapid pace; e.g., cellular phones are now equipped with high resolution displays and advanced processors to support sophisticated applications and services. Further, broadband data communications services have enabled transmission of bandwidth intensive applications, such as video broadcasts (e.g., web casts). The transformation of the communications industry has in turn influenced the media industry to rethink their business models and technological approaches.
However, in adopting these advances in communication technologies, the media industry faces a number of challenges. For instance, the issue of convergence of a broadband rich media experience and live television production and delivery needs to be addressed. Also, the demands of supporting real-time news, video on demand, user personalization, and continuing creative additions to initial systems pose additional engineering challenges. Further, delivery of interactive media (which describe real events in the real world in real-time) requires the capability to quickly acquire, store, edit, and composite live and other descriptive media by numerous users, e.g., editors, artists, and producers.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for approaches that enable rapid processing and delivery of digital media.